Check Studios
Check Studios (formerly Green Check Productions) is an animation studio based in Calgary, Canada. It was originally an American studio that was formed in 1982, but was sold to Canadian firms Western International Communications and Alliance Entertainment Corporation History Originally trading as Green Check Productions, the studio primarily produced merchandise for animated programs, but in 1985, it produced its first and only cartoon, The Fraken Fruit Bats!. The failure of the series caused the company to get put up for sale. The studio was won in an auction by Elliot Strange, who rebranded the company as Check Studios. The first program to be produced by the newly christened company was Bernie, and following the release of the show in Canada, the company was acquired by Western International Communications and Alliance Entertainment Corporation a month after, which prompted Strange to move the company to Canada. Strange has collaborated with various Canadian studios, including Nelvana, Decode Entertainment and Studio B Productions. A very notable aspect in Check's shows is that it features predominately American actors, which enabled the company to stand out amongst the competition. The studio landed their first hit with, D: The Series in 1995, (what is) Film in 1999, and again in 2014 with New Cartoon Cartoons on the Block. In 2000, the then merged Alliance Atlantis acquired WIC's share in Check Studios following the previous company's demise. After Alliance Atlantis was acquired by Canwest, Check was spun-off from the company and it remained independent since. Following the end of New Cartoon Cartoons on the Block, the studio exited the television industry, however, it still operates to this day to maintain the rights to Strange's programs. Along with television, the company has worked on cinematic productions as well. Strange previously worked with Miramax Films but after an argument broke out between them in regards to Harvey Weinstein's editing of The Way Home, he has become a freelancer for varying studios (though it seems like the tensions between Strange and the Weinstein brothers have quelled, given that both collaborated on A Better Place.) Filmography Shows * The Fraken Fruit Bats! (1985) * Bernie (co-production with Random Meats Productions and Abonica Productions) (1993) * Close Quarters (co-production with YTV, The Kushner Locke Company, Alliance Entertainment Corporation and WIC Entertainment) (1993-1994) * The New Adventures of Frog and Toad (co production with Nelvana, WIC Entertainment, Alliance Entertainment Corporation and The Summit Media Group) (1994-1995) * D: The Series (co-production with Random Meats Productions, WIC Entertainment, Alliance Entertainment Corporation and Tribune Entertainment) (1995-1998) * Life With a Few Yanks (co-production with Brillstein Grey Entertainment, Sonnenfeld Josephson Worldwide Entertainment, 3 Arts Entertainment and HBO Independent Productions) (unaired TV pilot, completed in 1998) * (what is) Film (credited as MediaPipeline)(co-production with Laney/Novice Productions, WIC Entertainment, Alliance Atlantis Communications and Fox Television Studios) (1999-2002) * Penny Crayon (credited as "MediaPipeline")(co-production with Alliance Atlantis, Breakthrough Films and Television, Decode Entertainment and Studio B Productions) (2003-2005) * She Wolf and She Muscle (co-production with Breakthrough Films & Television, and Alliance Atlantis)(2006-2007) * She-Line (2013-2014) * New Cartoon Cartoons on the Block (2014-2016) Movies * E0 (co-production with Touchstone Pictures and Interscope Communications) (1999) * The Way Home (co-production with Miramax Films) (2000) * Sky Warrior (co-production with Mainframe Entertainment) (2002) * Sonic Adventure: Chaos Complex (English Dub and additional animation) (co-production with TMS Entertainment and Destination Films) (2004) * The Gathering (co-production with Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures) (2005) * A Better Place (animated portions)(co-production with Radar Pictures, Dimension Films and The Weinstein Company) (2007) Bumpers * MTV bumpers (1994-1996) * Nickelodeon bumpers (1993-2004) * Cartoon Network bumpers (1997-2002) * Kids WB! bumpers (2002-2005)